| MGBGTV8 Condition is the major factor determining V8 prices, particularly of the bodywork, because major bodywork refurbishment, or a more serious restoration work, is usually very costly. So if a buyer is able to find an V8 with good bodywork, generally they are to some extent flexible over body colour. The V8 body colours chosen by the British Leyland group in the early to mid-1970s are, by today's tastes, seen as brash and they attract some strong feelings for and against. The popular colours with enthusiasts with relatively conservative tastes are seen as Damask, Teal Blue and Glacier White. Another group of bright colours - typically Bronze Yellow, Bracken, Flamenco Red, Tahiti Blue, Aconite and Black Tulip - are seen as giving a V8 a period appearance. A further group of less bold colours - typically Harvest Gold and Tundra - is seen as near neutral, but there is a group of colours which many regard as the least popular choice - for example Citron Yellow (commonly known as "puke green"), Chartreuse and Mirage (which some feel looks like gloss undercoat). But these comments do not attract universal agreement! Many members are very fond indeed of Citron, Tundra, Chartreuse and Mirage! Chrome bumpered cars attract a slightly higher price as they tend to be the preferred choice of many buyers. Chrome bumper conversions of cars originally produced as rubber bumper models are often seen and occasionally as "Sebring" type conversions. A close inspection of the quality of the workmanship of the bodywork changes with a chrome bumper conversion is essential. There are signs of increasing interest in original rubber bumper MGBGTV8s. Condition - a growing preference for Condition 1 V8s has resulted in a significant price differential with Condition 2 cars. Consequently sellers of Condition 2 cars will be tempted to describe their car in terms which might suggest Condition 1 (they may genuinely believe their car is in the Condition 1 category), so buyers will need to inspect a car very thoroughly and if required get a specialist inspection because serious corrosion in areas like the cills may not be obvious to an untrained eye. The costs of replacing cills and the consequential restoration work could easily lift the resulting overall cost of poor Condition 2 car above the value of a Condition 1 specimen. In addition the high cost of major restoration or a rebuild work is very rarely seen in the resulting value of the car. With Condition 3 cars the high cost of major restorations or rebuilds and the economic attraction of breaking V8s for spares, mean many Condition 3 cars are at increasing risk. |
MG
RV8 Prices depend very much on condition, body colour, specification and mileage. Condition is a clear factor in RV8 prices but the fundamental advantage the RV8 has is the bodyshell and panels were manufactured with a corrosion resisting phosphoretic coating, so the incidence of rust both cosmetic and structural is reduced in a major way. Colour - there has been a premium for colours (Other Colours) other than Woodcote Green, particularly for Nightfire Red and Oxford Blue. This was because some 64% of RV8 production was produced in Woodcote Green, very nearly all of which went to Japan with only 11 RV8s in Woodcote Green the UK or the European export market. So only 402 RV8s were produced in an "Other Colour", some 21% of the production run. In recent years that premium has been reducing as buyers are more interested in the condtion of the car. Specification - the other major factor is whether the car is a UK or Japan specification car. UK spec cars have tended to attract a premium, which is slightly puzzling as the Japan spec cars include air conditioning fitted as standard. But a possible explanation is that only 307 cars were supplied to the UK market with the balance, almost 80% of RV8 production, exported to Japan. Over recent years the flow of RV8s leaving Japan as reimports to the UK and as exports to Australia has had a major effect on prices in the UK and Australia. For details of the numbers of cars in the various colours and specifications (UK/Japan), see our production statistics note. More Mileage - curiously cars exported from Japan tend to have relatively low mileages. Those reimported to the UK and Mainland Europe markets have tended to condition buyers to expect RV8s offered for sale will have low mileages. The checks we understand have been made seem to show these low mileages appear reasonable and we have seen no proof of any general mischief in engineering false mileage readings when cars are exported from Japan to the UK or to Australia and New Zealand. "Exceptional" cars have achieved high prices. An RV8 in Le Mans Green with a low mileage sold at around £30,000 through the V8 website, well over our Condition 1 price guide figure. Other exceptional very low mileage RV8s have been offered in recent months at prices over £40,000! See our PriceWatch reports. Updated: 211101 |
